Chapter 6: Tribulation Transcending Punisher Yu Qingjian  

Even with his life hanging by a thread, he still couldn’t stop spouting nonsense…  

With a Director like this, the Bureau of Tribulation Transference’s future looked bleak.  

The Calamitous Spirit seemed to hold a grudge against Li Changsheng, completely ignoring Yu Qingjian, who was bound by the Hex Suppression Command, and aimed every lethal strike at Li Changsheng’s neck.  

Li Changsheng dodged in a rather pathetic manner: “Lord Yu, could you perhaps call for reinforcements?”  

Yu Qingjian, his limbs nearly torn apart by the chains, still managed to taunt: “Chong Jun despises you… You’re despised by Chong Jun…”  

Li Changsheng: “…”  

“Whether Chong Jun despises me or not is beside the point,” Li Changsheng said, his hair ribbon coming loose as he fled, speaking with earnest concern. “What matters is that this Calamitous Spirit clearly wants me dead. If Lord Yu doesn’t think of something soon, all three of us are going to perish here.”  

Yu Qingjian’s eyes burned crimson as he glared at him fiercely: “First, undo the Hex Suppression Command.”  

“How do I undo it?”  

Yu Qingjian sneered: “You don’t even know how to use the Hex Suppression Command? Just what qualifications do you have to be the Bureau’s Director?”  

Li Changsheng: “?”  

Huh, Lord Yu had dropped the formal “you” and finally revealed his caustic, venomous tongue.  

It seemed this position as Director of the Bureau of Tribulation Transference was doomed from the start.  

Li Changsheng secretly rejoiced.  

But this moment of distraction allowed the Calamitous Spirit to catch up. A Spirit Sword, wreathed in fierce gale-force winds, came slashing toward him. Instinctively, Li Changsheng raised his right arm to block—only to be sent flying by the impact.  

The world spun violently. As Li Changsheng tumbled, disoriented, he collided with something.  

A metallic screech pierced his ears, and his head buzzed with noise.  

“I hate him… Sob, I want to kill him.”  

“Chong Jun…”  

Li Changsheng’s vision blurred. A sharp pain flared between his brows, and fragmented images flickered through his mind—gone before he could grasp them.  

When his sight finally cleared, Li Changsheng belatedly realized he’d been flung into the very center of the formation. Beside him, the Mountain Ghost hovered silently, emanating a faint blue glow.  

The Mountain Ghost was less a sword and more like a jade ruler.  

Legends said Du Shangheng had been gentle and noble, preferring to guide lost souls rather than slaughter them. His favored weapon, the Mountain Ghost, was unsharpened—a slender strip of jade densely inscribed with golden Talismans.  

Having been suppressed by the Mountain Ghost for centuries, the Calamitous Spirit instinctively trembled at the sight of it.  

Not daring to approach, the spirit expressionlessly withdrew its Spirit Sword. Its murky ghostly eyes fixed on Li Changsheng before it slowly extended its tongue, licking the blade clean of scarlet blood.  

Li Changsheng: “?”  

His right wrist, hanging limply at his side, had been slashed by the Spirit Sword. Blood dripped steadily from his fingertips.  

The blood of a body bearing Golden Merit seemed to be an irresistible temptation. The Calamitous Spirit crouched like a wild beast, greedily lapping at the blood staining its sword.  

Li Changsheng: “…”  

That was… kind of disgusting.  

When Lou Changwang woke up, he’d definitely embellish this scene when retelling it.  

Amidst the chaos, Yu Qingjian finally broke free from the Hex Suppression Command. With a light step, he landed beside Li Changsheng, catching his breath briefly.  

Li Changsheng clutched his bleeding hand: “Lord Yu, reinforcements?”  

Yu Qingjian, still furious that Li Changsheng couldn’t summon a Spirit Attachment, replied coldly: “The Bureau has never had many personnel. Those capable of fighting are all thousands of miles away. Did you really think they’d send a Punisher like me to fetch you for no reason?”  

Li Changsheng: “…”  

Fair point.  

Unfazed, Li Changsheng asked: “Then what do we do now?”  

Yu Qingjian shot him a sidelong glance.

For thousands of years, Du Shangheng was the only person chosen by the Heavenly Dao. Initially, it was thought he might have some connection to Chong Jun, but now it seems there might not just be no reincarnation ties—there could even be a heap of grudges between them.  

Otherwise, why would Chong Jun—such a gentle and noble figure—be the only one whose Spirit Attachment he ignores?  

Yu Qingjian took a deep breath, suppressing the violence in his heart, and reluctantly said, “Do you have any incense on you? I need offerings.”  

Li Changsheng had nothing else on him, but incense he had plenty.  

Hearing this, he swiftly pulled out three sticks from his sleeve and lit them. The incense was of such poor quality that the flame stubbornly refused to die out, so he simply blew it out with a “whoosh.”  

Yu Qingjian: “…”  

He suspected Li Changsheng was doing it on purpose.  

But the man’s face was full of sincerity. Lord Yu’s eyelid twitched violently as he forcibly restrained himself.  

Worried he might accidentally summon Feng Hui again, Li Changsheng asked in advance, “What was Lord Yu’s name again?”  

Yu Qingjian closed his eyes and forced two words through gritted teeth: “Yu Ji.”  

“Mmm, Yu Ji.”  

Li Changsheng gave him a slight bow.  

Yu Qingjian couldn’t stop him in time. A sudden, excruciating pain wracked his body, as if his Divine Soul had been shattered into dust from the inside out. He nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.  

“Wait!” Yu Qingjian decisively commanded. “Don’t bow to me!”  

Li Changsheng was baffled: “?”  

Even after battling the Calamitous Spirit, Yu Qingjian had remained lively despite his injuries. Yet this single bow from Li Changsheng had nearly crippled him.  

Lord Yu, now barely clinging to life, gasped, “Just recite the Incense Offering Incantation directly.”  

No one could withstand a bow from the Bureau’s Director, who had been bestowed Golden Merit by the Heavenly Dao.  

Li Changsheng thought to himself, *You don’t even want me to bow to you? So picky.*  

Casually, he recited the incantation: “Devoutly worship the Heavenly Dao, may Karma grant transcendence.”  

The smoke from the low-quality incense had been drifting aimlessly, but as soon as the incantation was spoken, the white tendrils abruptly surged toward Yu Qingjian, coiling around him in delicate wisps.  

Yu Qingjian’s throat bobbed twice. The grievous wounds inflicted on his Divine Soul by Li Changsheng’s bow were barely healed, and his Spiritual Power was briefly replenished.  

“Once a Calamitous Spirit possesses someone, it becomes impossible to expel after too long,” Yu Qingjian said tersely, his expression grim. “I’ll use Spirit Attachment to trap him. You find a way to return the Mountain Ghost to the formation’s core.”  

Li Changsheng: “Mmm.”  

The Mountain Ghost had even attacked Yu Qingjian. With no cultivation to speak of, wouldn’t he just be offering himself up as a punching bag?  

“Lord Yu,” Li Changsheng said tactfully, “I’m just a Mortal, and someone Chong Jun despises at that. I’m afraid I’m hardly suited for such a grand task.”  

“Director, you overthink things. Of course I know you’re incapable of such a responsibility.” Yu Qingjian smiled without warmth and didn’t bother with courtesy. “This subordinate merely wishes to see the Director take a beating from Chong Jun’s lifebound sword.”  

Li Changsheng: “…………”  

He’d actually said it outright—without a shred of shame.  

Li Changsheng marveled.  

*Truly, the Bureau of Tribulation Transference lives up to its name—utterly unscrupulous.*  

While the two conversed, the Calamitous Spirit had remained eerily still.  

Yu Qingjian frowned slightly and looked up—only for his usual mocking expression to vanish completely.  

The Calamitous Spirit, still inhabiting Lou Changwang’s body, floated midair. Its form radiated countless translucent black threads, spreading outward in all directions.  

Yu Qingjian’s face paled instantly. “It’s devouring the entire city’s Karma!”  

“Karma?”  

“Calamitous Spirits feed on Karma.” Yu Qingjian’s face turned ashen. “Without Karma to protect them, every Mortal in this city will die unnatural deaths—not a single one spared.”  

This was true calamity.  

Even Li Changsheng’s brow furrowed slightly.

Yu Qingjian’s face darkened: “Lou Yao’s situation is special. With his pure yin birth chart, losing his soul and suffering spirit possessions have been common since childhood. Once a Calamitous Spirit takes over his body, no external force can expel it. The only way to release it is to kill him.”

Li Changsheng was taken aback, his gaze falling upon the boyish youth.

Though he didn’t particularly like the child, he’d found his boisterous nature somewhat amusing. Now faced with the prospect of killing him…

Li Changsheng felt a pang of reluctance.

Yu Qingjian’s expression grew even grimmer than when he’d said “Chong Jun detests you”: “But Lou Yao cannot die. I could perish before he’s allowed to come to harm.”

Li Changsheng was momentarily stunned by the depth of their bond, feeling genuinely moved.

Despite Yu Qingjian’s constant complaints about Lou Changwang, cursing his ancestors and calling him an idiot, his sharp tongue concealed a soft heart. As an elder, he surely couldn’t bear to harm Lou Changwang…

Before he could finish this thought, Yu Qingjian continued gravely: “His uncle is the manager of the Nether Capital Vault, controlling all financial expenditures of the Nine Bureaus. That stingy bastard already has it out for the Bureau of Tribulation Transference – last year’s accounts still haven’t been approved for payment. If anything happens to his nephew, our bureau won’t see a single coin from the vault. We’ll be left starving.”

Li Changsheng: “……..”

Struggling to hold back, Li Changsheng finally remarked: “The Four Cities Ghost Market rumors about the Bureau having ‘karmically poor fortune’ seemed exaggerated, but seeing this… the reputation is well-earned.”

Yu Qingjian shot him a glance: “The Director forgot one more thing.”

Li Changsheng: “…”

Ah yes. The damned Director.

Dismissing further discussion, Yu Qingjian warned Li Changsheng not to wander off as his hair ribbon transformed again into a talisman-covered whip.

Eight golden character prophecies materialized in the air, twisting into glowing patterns that suddenly flooded Yu Qingjian’s meridians.

Though Du Shangheng had perished three centuries ago, the remnant Spirit Attachment remained formidable. Golden veins crawled across Yu Qingjian’s entire body, his pale face now marked with vine-like golden patterns.

“Ah—!”

The whip descended with crushing force. Several loud impacts later, the excruciating pain of a human body’s limits struck unexpectedly, drawing a piercing shriek from the possessed form.

Trapped for too many years, its mind had long since fractured. Though unable to recognize faces, it instinctively recalled the aura of the one who had sealed it here, screaming hysterically.

“Du… Du Shangheng!”

Using Spirit Attachment twice in one day had left Yu Qingjian’s meridians battered by the overwhelming spiritual power, his face deathly pale as he fought back blood.

Forbidden from fatally harming Lou Changwang’s body, the golden patterns transformed into binding chains, expertly restraining the Calamitous Spirit’s limbs.

Though Lord Yu couldn’t fight effectively, he excelled at posturing. His robes billowed like some profound Dao master as he sneered: “For a Calamitous Spirit worthy of Chong Jun’s soul-bound sword seal, I expected more than this rabid muttering.”

Li Changsheng: “?”

Had Lord Yu already forgotten the beating he’d just taken?

The bloodied Calamitous Spirit continued greedily absorbing Karma like parched, cracked earth drinking in rain.

It fixed hateful eyes on Yu Qingjian, rasping: “Du Shangheng… for that little lover of yours… you reduced me to this…”

Li Changsheng’s eyebrows shot up in interest.

Wasn’t Du Shangheng supposed to be some transcendent immortal? He actually had a lover?

“How tiresome.”

Yu Qingjian couldn’t be bothered to listen. His slender fingers suddenly seized the Calamitous Spirit by the neck, veins bulging violently in his wrist as if wielding immense strength, slamming the spirit’s head ruthlessly against the wall.

Boom.

The ground seemed to tremble.

Li Changsheng: “……”

So he really is an executioner.

Had he offended Lord Yu earlier?

Yu Qingjian planted a foot on the blood-spewing Calamitous Spirit’s chest, looking down coldly at it. “Get out of his body,” he commanded.

The spirit, realizing Yu Qingjian wouldn’t kill Lou Changwang, twisted Lou’s pure, childlike face into a ferocious grin. “Dare you kill me?”

Yu Qingjian responded with a crisp, resounding slap. “Fool. Do you truly think I care about that paltry sum?”

The bloodied Calamitous Spirit chuckled darkly as streams of Karma surged through the black threads around it, rapidly healing its near-fatal wounds.

Yu Qingjian frowned. Spirit Attachment activated on his whip again as he prepared to severely injure the spirit before dragging it back to the Bureau of Tribulation Transference for interrogation.

But before he could strike, Lou Changwang’s eyes snapped open—no longer crimson ghost orbs, but filled with terror as tears streamed down his face. “N-no… I’m… scared…”

Yu Qingjian’s pupils contracted, his whip freezing mid-air.

In the next instant, a gale erupted. The spreading black threads twisted into a thick cord in the whirlwind, shooting forward unexpectedly.

Yu Qingjian, having missed his chance, retreated grimly.

Trouble.

The Calamitous Spirit, initially frenzied after breaking its Seal, now seemed lucid—aware of the Golden Merit within this ruined temple that could amplify its power.

Li Changsheng had been observing the battle at a safe distance from the Mountain Ghost when a shadowy streak shot toward him. Instinct made him dodge, but the black thread transformed into a massive hand mid-air, slamming him against a stone pillar by the throat.

Li Changsheng: “…”

What obsession do they all have with my neck?

Yu Qingjian, golden Spirit Attachment patterns still glowing on his face, lunged forward like an arrow.

But the Calamitous Spirit was faster.

The iron-like black hand exerted crushing force—one slight squeeze could snap the slender neck. It mercilessly tightened its grip.

“Li Changsheng—!” Yu Qingjian shouted.

Darkness swallowed Li Changsheng’s vision as countless voices—men, women, children—flooded his mind like wailing ghosts.

As oblivion loomed, he hazily thought: “At least I won’t have to go to the Bureau now.”

Perhaps better this way. Even if he reached the Nether Capital, meeting that Sealed Palace Master would’ve been fatal anyway.

At the brink of eternal darkness, an emerald light pierced the silence.

A razor-sharp blade split the void, its brilliance condensing into hair-thin sword light before the delayed screech of steel jolted Li Changsheng back to awareness.

“Clang—”

The Dragon God Temple lay in ruins.

The Mountain Ghost had transformed—no longer a jade ruler but a finely crafted sword shimmering with radiance, its blade inscribed with two characters: “Shang Heng.”

Moving without a wielder, the sword’s tip flashed coldly.

The black threads absorbing Karma exploded into dust, scattering silently across the ground.

Li Changsheng finally regained his breath, staggering as he slid down the stone pillar and collapsed onto the ground, clutching his throat while coughing violently.

“Cough… cough…”

His vision was still blurred, unable to make out his surroundings clearly.

Who had saved him?

Yu Qingjian stood frozen in place, seemingly stunned.

Li Changsheng…

Could actually control Chong Jun’s Mountain Ghost?

Author’s Note:

Yu Qingjian: Mountain Ghost! You’ve stopped being a fan?!